Sketch: Osborne and Johnson skip the pleasantries

George Osborne and Alan Johnson’s first clash saw the pair united in a desire to deprecate the same person – the new shadow chancellor. By Alex Stevenson This was the first Treasury questions since the formation of Ed Miliband’s first shadow Cabinet, an event dominated by speculation over who would get the economic portfolio. Would […]

Clegg concedes NI cuts vulnerability

By Alex Stevenson Nick Clegg acknowledged Northern Ireland’s reliance on public sector jobs makes it especially vulnerable to spending cuts in a speech in the province last night. The deputy prime minister said the coalition government would not “duck the difficult decisions” by avoiding taking “decisive action to pay down the UK’s towering budget deficit”. […]

Treasury ‘watering down’ harsh spending cuts

By politics.co.uk staff The Treasury is considering slowing down how quickly it reduces expenditure after the spending review, it has been reported. George Osborne is expected to unveil sweeping cuts in the comprehensive spending review out on October 20th which will quickly reduce government budgets for 2011/12. Political enthusiasm for quick cuts, which ministers hope […]

Sketch: Smiling Osborne prepares to wield the axe

George Osborne’s join-the-dots speech was outshone by a shadowy presence in the seventh row. By Alex Stevenson It was the relief of the man who knows there is no other way. “Any other road leads to ruin,” he explained, in one of the many cuts clichés sprinkled through his first speech to a Conservative conference […]

Stick with my policies, Darling pleads

By Alex Stevenson Alistair Darling has warned the Labour party it will not win back power if it shifts its economic policies to the left, in what he suggested was his final speech to the autumn conference. The shadow chancellor gave a strong defence of his approach to spending cuts to delegates in Manchester, as […]

Poll: Labour draws level amidst unease over cuts

By Peter Wozniak Conservative support has fallen to bring the party level with Labour as more people express worry over the impact of spending cuts, a YouGov poll has shown. The poll is the first from YouGov to show the two largest parties level, and the first to see the Conservatives dip below the symbolically […]

Fairness dominates conference cuts debate

By Alex Stevenson Liberal Democrat activists have sought to heighten pressure on their ministers by formally registering concern about the impact of spending cuts on their fairness agenda. A motion at the party’s conference in Liverpool this morning sought to ensure that “the most vulnerable in society are not disproportionately affected by the government’s austerity […]

Spending cuts ‘totally unnecessary’

By Anita McKay Government cutbacks have been described as “totally unnecessary” by Britain’s biggest public sector union. Frank Hont, regional secretary for Unison in the North West, said that there was “no need” for the coalition to make such cuts and voiced his frustration on what he sees as the governments silence on pre-election promises. […]

Video: Brendan Barber on the TUC’s anti-cuts campaign

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber talks to the BBC about his plans for a union-led “progressive alliance” fighting the coalition government’s planned spending cuts:

Comment: Mass outrage alone won’t demolish the coalition

The unions should never forget that fomenting ‘poll-tax’ style discontent is just a means to an end. Their real target should be the Lib Dems. By Alex Stevenson Don’t be fooled by the government’s diplomatic language. The prime minister’s spokesperson said this morning that “we want there to be a genuine partnership with trade unions”. […]